JP2022151904A - Image holding body unit and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent a printing operation with a protective cover attached to an image holding body.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: an image holding body unit that has an image holding body and can be inserted into and withdrawn from an apparatus housing; a protective cover that is composed of a cover part covering an exposed portion of the image holding body and a block body projecting while intersecting insertion and withdrawal directions of the image holding body unit on a near side in the insertion and withdrawal directions and facing one face of the image holding body, and is removably attached to the image holding body unit; and a projection body that is movable with respect to the apparatus housing and presses the block body of the protective cover attached to the image holding body unit inserted into the apparatus housing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an image carrier unit and an image forming apparatus.

A cartridge frame housing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, electrophotographic photosensitive member and process means, and provided with a guide portion that engages with a linear motion guide of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body. a protective cover that covers a portion of the electrophotographic photosensitive member exposed to the outside and is detachable from the cartridge frame by being fitted in a linear guide of the cartridge frame provided parallel to the guide portion of the cartridge frame; The protective cover is provided on the side of the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and when the process cartridge is inserted halfway while being fitted into a groove shorter than the length of the process cartridge in the attachment/detachment direction of the process cartridge, electrophotographic image formation is performed. It has an interference portion that abuts on the main body of the apparatus, and the interference portion abuts on the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a state in which the protective cover is fitted in the groove, thereby leaving the protective cover in the middle of mounting the cartridge frame. is known as a process cartridge mounted in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body (Patent Document 1).

A photoreceptor unit that is rotatably pivotally supported with respect to a housing, has a photoreceptor that is at least partially exposed from the housing, and is inserted into an image forming apparatus along the axial direction of the photoreceptor, wherein the axis of the photoreceptor is A light-shielding sheet directly fixed to the housing so as to cover part of one side in the direction, and a light-shielding sheet provided adjacent to the other side in the axial direction of the light-shielding sheet or overlapping a part of the light-shielding sheet, a hard cover that fits into a portion of the housing located at the other end in the axial direction, is positioned with respect to the housing, and constitutes a grip portion when inserted into the image forming apparatus; the hard cover and the photoreceptor; The hard cover has a length that allows the photoreceptor unit to be gripped on the hard cover, and the light shielding sheet, the hard cover and the buffer member are integrally separated from the photoreceptor. A removable photoreceptor unit is also known (US Pat.

Japanese Patent No. 3507227 Japanese Patent No. 3536577

The present invention prevents printing operations with the image carrier protective cover still attached.

In order to solve the above problems, the image carrier unit according to claim 1 comprises:
An image carrier unit that can be inserted into and removed from an apparatus housing,
an image carrier;
a protective cover detachably attachable to the image carrier, comprising a cover portion covering an exposed portion of the image carrier and a block body protruding on the front side in the insertion/extraction direction so as to intersect the insertion/extraction direction;
a surface facing the block body from the back side in the insertion direction,
The block body is pressed by a projecting body movable toward the device housing,
It is characterized by

The invention according to claim 2 is the image carrier unit according to claim 1,
The protective cover extends from the bottom surface of the block body to the front side in the insertion/removal direction and has a handle that can be gripped from the front side of the device housing.
It is characterized by

The invention according to claim 3 is the image carrier unit according to claim 2,
The handle has a gripping surface formed with a non-slip when pulling out to the front,
It is characterized by

The invention according to claim 4 is the image carrier unit according to claim 2 or 3,
The block body is formed wider on the bottom side than on the top side,
It is characterized by

The invention according to claim 5 is the image carrier unit according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
On the front side in the insertion/extraction direction of the image carrier unit, there is provided a handle that can be gripped by sandwiching it with the handle when the image carrier unit is inserted/extracted. having a gap that narrows to make contact when
It is characterized by

The invention according to claim 6 is the image carrier unit according to claim 5,
A rib is formed on the upper surface of the block body and engages with a rib formed on the lower surface of the handle at a position where, when the handle and the handle are gripped, the rib is shifted and overlaps in the insertion/extraction direction.
It is characterized by

In order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus according to claim 7 includes:
an image carrier unit that has an image carrier and can be inserted into and removed from an apparatus housing;
The image carrier includes a cover portion that covers the exposed portion of the image carrier, and a block member that protrudes forward in an insertion/extraction direction of the image carrier unit so as to intersect the insertion/extraction direction and faces one surface of the image carrier. a protective cover detachable from the unit;
a projecting body that is movable with respect to the device housing and presses the block body of the protective cover attached to the image carrier unit inserted into the device housing,
It is characterized by

The invention according to claim 8 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 7,
The protruding body is attached to a body member that enables the image forming apparatus to operate by moving, and moves horizontally toward the block body by moving the body member, and is substantially on the surface of the block body. abutting vertically,
It is characterized by

The invention according to claim 9 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 7 or 8,
The projecting body has an overlap amount with respect to the block body, and when the protective cover is attached to the image carrier, the projecting body comes into contact with the block body and cannot move to a predetermined position.
It is characterized by

The invention according to claim 10 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 9,
The overlap amount is outside the range where the sensor reads the unit position as normal,
It is characterized by

According to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to prevent the printing operation from being performed while the protective cover is not removed.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the protective cover can be easily removed.

According to the third aspect of the invention, it becomes easier to remove the protective cover by gripping it.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the protective cover can be easily gripped.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the unit and the protective cover can be sandwiched and held, and the operability of the unit with the protective cover attached is improved.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, when the unit and the protective cover are sandwiched and held, the protective cover is less likely to shift.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, it is possible to prevent the printing operation from being performed while the protective cover is not removed.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the projecting body is brought into contact with the block body substantially perpendicularly, thereby suppressing displacement and buckling.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, it is possible to prevent the printing operation with the protective cover of the image carrier attached.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, it is possible to prevent the printing operation with the protective cover of the image carrier attached.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus; FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a unit configuration in the image forming apparatus; FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of a protective cover. (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a block body of the protective cover, and (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the protective cover in a state of being attached to the photoreceptor unit. (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view in the axial direction of a photoreceptor unit with a protective cover attached, and (b) is a front view of the photoreceptor unit with a protective cover attached. FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining attachment of a photoreceptor unit to an apparatus housing; It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram explaining relationship with a protrusion in the state in which a protective cover is not removed.

Next, with reference to the drawings, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments and specific examples, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and specific examples.
In addition, in the explanation using the drawings below, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the ratio of each dimension is different from the actual one. Illustrations other than members are omitted as appropriate.
To facilitate understanding of the following description, in the drawings, the front-rear direction is the X-axis direction, the left-right direction is the Y-axis direction, and the vertical direction is the Z-axis direction.

(1) Overall Configuration and Operation of Image Forming Apparatus (1.1) Overall Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming unit 10, a paper feeding device 20 attached to one end of the image forming unit 10, and a paper ejecting device 20 provided at the other end of the image forming unit 10 for ejecting printed paper. 30, and an image processing unit 40 (not shown) that generates image information from print information transmitted from a host device.

The image forming section 10 includes a system control device 11 (not shown), an exposure device 12, a photosensitive unit 13, a developing device 14, a transfer device 15, paper conveying devices 16a, 16b, 16c, a fixing device 17, and a driving device 18 (not shown). ), and forms the image information received from the image processing section 40 as a toner image on the paper fed from the paper feeding device 20 .

The paper feeding device 20 supplies paper to the image forming section 10 . That is, a plurality of paper stacking units are provided to accommodate papers of different types (for example, material, thickness, paper size, and paper grain), and the paper fed out from any one of these multiple paper stacking units is used as an image. It is configured to supply to the forming section 10 .

The paper discharge unit 30 discharges the paper on which the image has been output by the image forming unit 10 . For this reason, the paper discharge section 30 includes a paper discharge receiving section into which the paper after image output is discharged. Note that the paper discharge unit 30 may have a function of performing post-processing such as cutting and stapling of the bundle of sheets output from the image forming unit 10 .

(1.2) Configuration and Operation of Image Forming Unit In the image forming apparatus 1 configured as described above, the sheet stacking device 20, which is designated for each sheet of printing in the print job, is loaded in accordance with the timing of image formation. The paper fed out from the unit is sent to the image forming unit 10 .

The photoreceptor unit 13 as an example of an image forming unit is arranged in parallel under the exposure device 12 and includes a photoreceptor drum 31 as a rotationally driven image carrier. A charging roll 32 , an exposure device 12 , a developing device 14 , a primary transfer roll 52 , and a cleaning blade 34 are arranged along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 31 .

The developing device 14 has a developing housing 41 in which developer is accommodated. A developing roller 42 is arranged in the developing housing 41 so as to face the photosensitive drum 31 .
Each developing device 14 has substantially the same configuration except for the developer accommodated in the developing housing 41, and each develops toner images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Form.

Above the developing device 14, replaceable toner cartridges T containing developer (toner containing carrier) and a developer supply device 60 for supplying developer from each toner cartridge T to the developing device 14 are arranged. ing. In this embodiment, the yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) toner cartridges Ty, Tm, and Tc, and the black (K) toner cartridge Tk are detachable.

The surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 31 is charged by the charging roll 32 and an electrostatic latent image is formed by the latent image forming light emitted from the exposure device 12 . The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 31 is developed as a toner image by the developing roll 42 .

The transfer device 15 has an intermediate transfer belt 51 onto which the toner images of each color formed by the photoreceptor drums 31 of the photoreceptor units 13 are multiple-transferred, and the toner images of each color formed by each photoreceptor unit 13 are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 51 . A primary transfer roll 52 that sequentially transfers (primary transfer) to 51, and a secondary transfer roll 53 that collectively transfers (secondary transfer) each color toner image superimposed and transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 51 onto a sheet of paper as a recording medium. configured with.

Each color toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 31 of each photosensitive unit 13 is intermediately transferred by a primary transfer roll 52 to which a predetermined transfer voltage is applied from a power supply device or the like (not shown) controlled by the system control device 11. The toner images are sequentially electrostatically transferred (primary transfer) onto the belt 51 to form a superimposed toner image in which the toners of the respective colors are superimposed.

As the intermediate transfer belt 51 moves, the superimposed toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 51 is conveyed to the secondary transfer portion TR where the secondary transfer roll 53 is pressed against the backup roll 65 via the intermediate transfer belt 51 . be.
When the superimposed toner image is conveyed to the secondary transfer portion TR, the paper is supplied from the paper feeding device 20 to the secondary transfer portion TR at the same timing. A predetermined secondary transfer voltage is applied from a power supply controlled by the system control device 11 to the backup roll 65 facing the secondary transfer roll 53 via the intermediate transfer belt 51, and the intermediate transfer is performed on the paper. Multiple toner images on the belt 51 are collectively transferred.

Residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 is removed by the cleaning blade 34 and collected in a waste toner container (not shown). The surface of the photosensitive drum 31 is recharged by the charging roll 32 .

The fixing device 17 has an endless fixing belt 17a that rotates in one direction and a pressure roller 17b that is in contact with the peripheral surface of the fixing belt 17a and rotates in one direction. A nip portion (fixing area) is formed by the area.
The sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred by the transfer device 15 is conveyed to the fixing device 17 via the sheet conveying device 16a while the toner image is not yet fixed. A pair of fixing belt 17a and pressure roller 17b press and heat the paper P transported to the fixing device 17 to fix the toner image.

The sheet P on which fixing has been completed is sent to the sheet discharge section 30 via the sheet conveying device 16b.
When images are output on both sides of the paper, the paper is turned upside down by the paper conveying device 16c and sent to the secondary transfer portion TR in the image forming portion 10 again. Then, after the toner image is transferred and the transferred image is fixed, the sheet is sent to the sheet discharge section 30 . The paper sent to the paper ejection unit 30 is subjected to post-processing such as cutting and stapling as necessary, and then is ejected to the paper ejection storage unit.

(2) Unit Configuration and Mounting Operation of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the unit configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 . The configuration and mounting operation of the photoreceptor unit 13 and the developing device 14 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the image forming apparatus 1, the photoreceptor unit 13 and the developing device 14 are detachably housed in an apparatus housing 90. As shown in FIG.

(2.1) Photoreceptor Unit As shown in FIG. 2, the photoreceptor unit 13 has a unit housing 35 in which the photoreceptor drum 31 is rotatably supported (indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2). , a charging roll 32, a cleaning roll 33, a cleaning blade 34, and a conveying auger 36 for conveying toner removed by the cleaning blade 34 to a waste toner conveying device 200 (see FIG. 7).

The unit housing 35 is integrally provided with a hook-shaped hook 37 that engages with a guide 91 provided on the apparatus housing 90 . The hook 37 is formed to protrude upward (in the Z direction) from the uppermost position of the photoreceptor unit 13 and extend from the front side to the back side of the photoreceptor unit 13 . , and guides the mounting of the photoreceptor unit 13 to the device housing 90 .

A protective cover 100 that covers and protects the exposed surface of the photoreceptor drum 31 is detachably attached to the photoreceptor unit 13 . The protective cover 100 prevents the surface of the photoreceptor drum 31 from being scratched due to dropping or vibration when the photoreceptor unit 13 is not in use.

(2.2) Developing Device In the developing device 14, as shown in FIG. 2, the developing roll 42 is rotatably supported in the developing housing 41, and the stirring auger 43A and the supply auger 43B are arranged in the developing housing 41. ing. The surroundings of the stirring auger 43A and the supply auger 43B in the developing housing 41 are filled with developer and covered with a cover member 44. As shown in FIG.

The developing roller 42 includes a cylindrical developing sleeve 42A rotatably supported with respect to the developing housing 41, and a cylindrical magnet member provided in the inner space of the developing sleeve 42A and fixed to the developing housing 41. and a magnet 42B.
The developing sleeve 42A holds the developer on its outer peripheral surface by the magnetic force of the magnet 42B, and the rotation of the developing sleeve 42A (indicated by arrow B in FIG. 2) transports and supplies the developer to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 31. is configured as

(2.3) Protective Cover FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of the protective cover 100, FIG. 4A is a schematic sectional view showing the structure of the block body 120 of the protective cover 100, and 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the protective cover 100 attached to the . The configuration of the protective cover 100 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The protective cover 100 includes a cover portion 110 that covers the exposed portion of the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 exposed to the outside, and a block body 120 provided integrally with the cover portion 110 on the front side in the insertion/removal direction of the photosensitive unit 13 . , and is made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, which has such rigidity that it does not deform greatly even when held by a user.

The cover portion 110 extends in the longitudinal direction of the photoreceptor unit 13 and has a shape that covers the exposed surface of the photoreceptor drum 31 . A mounting portion 111 to be fitted into the unit housing 35 is formed on the rear side of the cover portion 110 in the insertion/removal direction of the photosensitive unit 13 .

The block body 120 has a quadrangular prism shape with a certain thickness, width and height, and a handle 121 extending forward in the insertion/removal direction and capable of being gripped from the front side of the device housing 90 is formed on the bottom surface. there is As shown in cross-section in FIG. 4, the handle 121 is hollowed out in the thickness direction, and a non-slip surface 121a is formed on the back surface of the handle 121, which is the side to be gripped when the handle 121 is pulled out. Further, the block body 120 is wider on the bottom side where the handle 121 is formed than on the top side, making it easier to hold the protective cover 100 (W1>W2 in FIG. 3).

A rib 122 is formed on the upper surface 120a of the block body 120 so as to extend in a direction intersecting the insertion/removal direction and project upward. As shown in FIG. 4(b), the unit housing 35 on the front side in the insertion/removal direction of the photoreceptor unit 13 has a handle 121 of the protective cover 100 that can be gripped (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 4(b)). A handle 38 is provided. A lower surface 38a of the handle 38 is formed with a rib 38b extending in a direction intersecting the insertion/removal direction and protruding downward.

The gap G between the upper surface 120a of the block body 120 and the lower surface 38a of the handle narrows so that when the handle 38 and the handle 121 are gripped, the ribs 38b formed on the lower surface 38a of the handle 38 and the block body Ribs 122 formed on the upper surface 120a of 120 are shifted in the insertion/removal direction and overlapped. As a result, when the photoconductor unit 13 and the protective cover 100 are sandwiched between the protective cover 100 and the protective cover 100, the protective cover 100 is less likely to slip forward.

(3) Attachment of photoreceptor unit and action of protective cover FIG. 5(a) is a schematic axial cross-sectional view of the photoreceptor unit 13 to which the protective cover 100 is attached, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the attachment of the photoreceptor unit 13 to the apparatus housing 90, and FIG. 7 is a cross section for explaining the relationship with the projecting body when the protective cover 100 is not removed. It is a schematic diagram.
The action of the protective cover 100 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the photoreceptor unit 13 is provided with a protective cover 100 that protects the exposed portion of the photoreceptor drum 31 . The protective cover 100 is detachably attached to the photoreceptor unit 13 by fitting the mounting portion 111 into a hole of the unit housing 35 on the far side in the insertion direction of the photoreceptor unit 13 .

The protective cover 100 attached to the photoreceptor unit 13 faces the front surface 35a of the unit housing 35 so that the block member 120 on the front side contacts the surface 35a on the front side of the unit housing 35 in the insertion/removal direction of the photoreceptor unit 13 . As a result, when an external force acts on the block body 120, the block body 120 can contact the surface 35a on the front side of the unit housing 35 to receive the external force (indicated by arrows F and FR in FIG. 5A). ).
In addition, in the vertical direction intersecting the inserting/removing direction, the block body 120 is opposed to the handle 38 integrally provided so as to protrude from the surface 35a on the front side of the unit housing 35 with a gap G therebetween. As a result, the photoreceptor unit 13 can be mounted by gripping the handle 38 with the handle 121 integrally provided on the bottom surface of the block body 120 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the photosensitive unit 13 to which the protective cover 100 is attached is moved toward the guide 91 while the developing device 14 is attached to the apparatus housing 90 first. 6), the hook 37 of the photoreceptor unit 13 is placed on the guide 91, and moved inward. Then, a set lever (not shown) having a rotation fulcrum on the developing device 14 side is rotated toward the photoreceptor unit 13 side to fix the photoreceptor unit 13 to the apparatus housing 90 . After that, the protective cover 100 is removed from the photoreceptor unit 13 .

The action of the protective cover 100 when the image forming apparatus 1 is operated while the protective cover 100 is attached to the photoreceptor unit 13 attached to the apparatus housing 90 will be described with reference to FIG. explain.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a waste toner conveying device 200 as an example of a main body member that makes the image forming apparatus 1 operable by moving to the front side of the apparatus housing 90 . It is detachable. The waste toner conveying device 200 conveys the waste toner discharged from the photosensitive unit 13 and the developer discharged from the developing device 14 to the collection container 220 (see FIG. 1).

A projecting body 210 projecting toward the device housing 90 is provided on a surface 200 a of the waste toner conveying device 200 facing the photoreceptor unit 13 . The protruding body 210 is a columnar body reinforced with ribs, and when the waste toner conveying device 200 moves toward the device housing 90 to a predetermined fixing position, the protective cover 100 overlaps the block body 120. The amount is formed at a height outside the range where the sensor SR can read the position of the waste toner conveying device 200 as normal. Specifically, the overlap amount with respect to the block body 120 is formed at a height of ⅓ or more of the thickness of the block body 120 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the protective cover 100 of the photoreceptor unit 13 attached to the device housing 90 is not removed and is still attached, the waste toner conveying device 200 does not move the projecting body 210 contacts the block body 120 and cannot move to a predetermined fixed position, the actuator AC of the front cover is not detected by the sensor SR, and the image forming apparatus 1 is in an inoperable state.

The block 120 pressed by the projecting body 210 comes into surface contact with the surface 35a of the unit housing 35 and cannot move any further in the moving direction of the projecting body 210, and the waste toner conveying device 200 is planned in advance. It cannot be moved to the fixed position, and the image forming apparatus 1 does not transition to an operable state.
As a result, the printing operation with the protective cover 100 attached can be prevented. The projecting body 210 may be provided on the front cover of the image forming apparatus 1 that can be opened and closed. There is a risk that it will be lost. In addition, when the projecting body 210 is hit obliquely, there is a possibility that the projecting body 210 may receive a load in a direction intersecting the projecting direction and buckle. Therefore, it is desirable that the projecting body 210 moves horizontally toward the block body 120 . The projecting body 210 hits the opposite surface of the block body 120 perpendicularly, so that the projecting body 210 is not subjected to a load in a direction intersecting the projecting direction, and the displacement and buckling of the projecting body 210 can be suppressed.

Reference Signs List 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Image forming unit 13 Photoreceptor unit 31 Photoreceptor drum 35 Unit housing 37 Hook 38 Handle 14. Developing device 41 Developing housing 42 Developing roll 20 Paper feeding device 30 Paper discharge unit 90 Apparatus housing 91 Guide 100 Protective cover 110. .Cover part 120.Block body 121.Handle 200.Waste toner conveying device 210.Protruding body

Claims (10)

An image carrier unit that can be inserted into and removed from an apparatus housing,
an image carrier;
a protective cover detachably attachable to the image carrier, comprising a cover portion covering an exposed portion of the image carrier and a block body protruding on the front side in the insertion/extraction direction so as to intersect the insertion/extraction direction;
a surface facing the block body from the back side in the insertion direction,
The block body is pressed by a projecting body movable toward the device housing,
An image carrier unit characterized by: The protective cover extends from the bottom surface of the block body to the front side in the insertion/removal direction and has a handle that can be gripped from the front side of the device housing.
2. The image carrier unit according to claim 1, wherein: The handle has a gripping surface formed with a non-slip when pulling out to the front,
3. The image carrier unit according to claim 2, wherein: The block body is formed wider on the bottom side than on the top side,
4. The image carrier unit according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: On the front side in the insertion/extraction direction of the image carrier unit, there is provided a handle that can be gripped by sandwiching it with the handle when the image carrier unit is inserted/extracted. having a gap that narrows to make contact when
5. The image carrier unit according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: A rib is formed on the upper surface of the block body and engages with a rib formed on the lower surface of the handle at a position where, when the handle and the handle are gripped, the rib is shifted and overlaps in the insertion/extraction direction.
6. An image carrier unit according to claim 5, characterized in that: an image carrier unit that has an image carrier and can be inserted into and removed from an apparatus housing;
The image carrier includes a cover portion that covers the exposed portion of the image carrier, and a block member that protrudes forward in an insertion/extraction direction of the image carrier unit so as to intersect the insertion/extraction direction and faces one surface of the image carrier. a protective cover detachable from the unit;
a projecting body that is movable with respect to the device housing and presses the block body of the protective cover attached to the image carrier unit inserted into the device housing,
An image forming apparatus characterized by: The protruding body is attached to a body member that enables the image forming apparatus to operate by moving, and moves horizontally toward the block body by moving the body member, and is substantially on the surface of the block body. abutting vertically,
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: The projecting body has an overlap amount with respect to the block body, and when the protective cover is attached to the image carrier, the projecting body comes into contact with the block body and cannot move to a predetermined position.
9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: The overlap amount is outside the range where the sensor reads the unit position as normal,
10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

Images